11 Answers
11

Ashe is a really good place to start, she's only like 450 IP. Tristana is also a good choice and you can get her for free if you have a facebook account (just friend Riot). If you don't I think she's still pretty cheap IP wise.

If you're dieing a lot try playing a bit more conservatively. Poke at your opponent but don't over extend. Only do so if you know you and your lane partner (or just yourself if your miding) can kill or really cripple the enemy. Poke at your enemy and try to draw them out. Take a healing pot or two with your first starting item and always return when you have low health. Your tower can take a hit or two while you're away. Mages and other ranged type champions are usually low on defense cause they have high offensive capabilities. However most have some sort of crowd control to catch the opponent off guard. Overall don't worry too much, it usually takes time to get used to how your champion works and others play against him/her. Just watch what others are doing and try to learn from it =)

Also check out some guides on the forums and at leaguecraft.com (I know there are others but that's where I usually go). Lots of useful info floating about! Now if Riot would only put back up solo practicing you could practice a bit getting used to champions before heading out to normal games...

+1 I will take your answer for the time you took to write, great content!
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Fabiano PSAug 9 '10 at 19:29

3

Oh forgot to mention. The reason to play conservatively is because dieing to an enemy gives them a lot of money and exp. Dieing a lot to an enemy is usually referred to as "feeding". It's in the best interest to keep yourself alive (no gold/exp to the enemy and, well, you aren't dead), hence needing pots and returning to base to heal when low on HP. Keep it up, LoL can be a little intimidating when queuing solo but find some good friends to play with and it's a blast =)
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The JugAug 9 '10 at 21:24

I agree about ashe but not trist. A new player will always leap into a battle and then die really quickly with no escape. with ashe at least you tend to always keep you distance.
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Derek OrganNov 2 '10 at 18:36

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@Derek: If you're wise enough, you should be able to keep your distance with Tristana too, since it's a ranged hero.
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LysarionMar 29 '11 at 13:54

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Of course but we are talking about beginners who's urge is to use all there abilities and if you trist then you'll end jumping in.
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Derek OrganApr 1 '11 at 23:23

Those are some that come to mind. You can look at each champion and it tells you the level of difficulty it is to play. They always have a few 'easy' champions for free each week so you should be fine just starting out.

While some heroes are not labelled 'easy', they are still not too hard to play... I'm especially thinking about those 'carry' ones. They are usually ranged, have a physical dps, a control/stun attack, and are able to easily go away.
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LysarionMar 29 '11 at 13:55

It's up to your playing style. I would suggest just using all the free-to-play ones during each rotation to find one that suits you. I fell in love with Kog'Maw when he was free, as I like ranged DPS. It depends heavily on your playstyle, what is a good beginner hero for you.

I like Jug's answer. But I want to point out that you have certain things you need to learn that are not champion specific:

Last Hitting - this is the act of waiting until a creep is at very low health and then delivering the finishing blow. This services two purposes. Firstly, for many champs this is the main source of gold income early game. Secondly, this helps control the overall position in the lane. At low level, this doesn't mean as much but at higher levels you'll see junglers frequently as well as ganks from other lanes. You don't want to just quickly push the lane to the enemy's tower only to have enemy champions appear in lane behind you and then kill you. learn to last hit! Some characters make this easier than others.

Positioning - I mean both how to try and control where the creeps are fighting in lane (and learning when and when not to push), but also how to position your champion in various situations. These things take many games to learn.

Learning the limits of an individual character. This just takes time played with them. You are probably having trouble with mages because of a combination of 2 and 3. It happens to everyone at first. It will be many games before you get really comfortable with this stuff.

Because of point 3, I advise you periodically try out new champions even if you are focusing on a select few. Also, if you keep running into a particular champion and having trouble with them, try playing them when they are free. Understanding how a champ works will help you better counter them.

Ashe is a little trickier to play than some here are suggesting IMO. That isn't to say you shouldn't play her; she's a little different. Learning to last hit with a ranged AD character at lower levels will really hone that particular skill, FWIW (it's easier at high levels thanks to all those runes and masteries), so these can be a good choice to practice that. Just recognize they are very farm-dependent. It's harder to do stuff early game with them.

Casters tend to be farm dependent too however they have stronger early games (many casters at level 4 have a good form of CC as well as a couple of damage dealer skills - often one that hits really hard).

For me, the best hero to start with is Ashe. You just need to get your first Phantom Dancer and it's almost enough. Her spells are focused on slowing, and she has on start a good speed. So what you need to do kills is somebody to cover you. On level 10 Ashe can kill an enemy with assist, doing 75% of the entire damage. It's also good on 5 vs 5 to use sometimes her ability "Hawkshot". Example: you're advancing on a lane, and you don't see any enemy coming. If you use hawkshot to see what happening nearby the bushes, you could perhaps find the enemy. In the majority of cases, that ability is useless, but sometimes it can be very useful. And about her ultimate: it's a pretty useful ability, cuz if you have an enemy running away with low health, Enchanted Crystal Arrow can catch him, and if you have build an AP or AD Ashe, the arrow can steal over 40% of the maximum health of the target. If it habe not happened, you can always finish the job cuz the enemy is stunned and slowed. That's all! Good luck and have fun!:DDD

Most people want to start with carries, like Ashe or Annie. I think it's much better to start with support. Playing support forces you to be aware of the game around you, instead of focusing on doing damage.

Recommended items (for a beginner): WARDS, Philosopher stone, Mercury Treads, Heart of Gold, any upgrades for these items, anything else with AP, Health, or Auras. Try starting the game with a Faerie Charms and wards. Ward the river, and focus on harassing the enemy w/out taking damage and healing when you can.

For runes, get armor seals and magic resist glyphs. For masteries, try 0-21-9 or 0-9-21. Make sure you get the extra health in the defense tree, mana regen in utility, and cooldown reduction anywhere you can.

Soraka's job in the game is to support a carry. You'll want to team up bottom lane with a ranged AD: ashe, caitlyn, etc. Your focus is to ward bushes, heal your partner, and be a nuisance to the enemy team. You want to get items that generate gold to compensate for not getting very much CS.

Finally, keep an eye on the minimap. If you see an ally fighting someone, try to steal a peak at their HP. If they're close to death, use your ultimate abilty (the one you get at lvl 6) to try and save their life.

Just to note... most people that read this question for advice on which champion to start with are almost always very low lvl so the part about masteries is pretty moot. Also, you don't need to keep an eye constantly on the minimap to check if an ally is fighting an enemy(it's usually a bad indicator anyway). On the left side of the GUI, there are icons of your teammates. Their health bar can be seen there. Use that to watch for ally's health to dip so you can ult.
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JayFeb 23 '12 at 19:50

Good point about masteries. I've been lvl 30 too long.
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ToastFeb 23 '12 at 20:07

It's easier when starting to choose tankier champions. One of the first champions I got into playing was Sion. He's naturally tanky, has a nice shield which also helps get minion kills, and a super reliable stun. He's 1350 ip, can build either AD or AP, and is one of a few champions that can manage well in a 2v1 lane.

1- Almost every champion can manage 2v1 really well. they just need a good player behind and some gear (don't even need be fed for this). 2- Adding information, Sion is naturally tanky because of the enrage skill. Besides that, he is like any other meele, good def(or skills for it) and one nice health pool.
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MichelApr 11 '12 at 14:31

For a beginner who wants to play a mage I'd actually recommend Heimerdinger and Swain.

Heimerdinger can sit behind turrets, and CS from safety, with items and AP his rockets do a lot of damage. He is squishy, but then if you play defensively and try not to spam skills he's quite easy to play without feeding the opponent.

Swain is also a good choice, he has natural mana regen from his passive, can dish out nice damage, has a ranged grab (can be tricky to land) and a slow for getting away. At 6 his ultimate heals, damages and procs passive killing minions so helps sustain and can clear waves quickly.